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new b spearfisher looking for some hunting tips

Thread Status: Hello , There was no answer in this thread for more than 60 days.
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paddyc23

Rascacio
Jul 8, 2007
148
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Hello all,im paddy the irish man, im a new b to this site, ive been spearfishing for about 6 months mainly in southern spain, sargo,salpa,bass,mullet,, mussels,clams,cockels,oysters mainly smaller ones as the bigger ones tend to be dead open shelled but still attached to the rock, darn!!, im looking to find octopus as im kinda new to the underwater hunting i dont really know where to look and what to look for..any ideas? i caught one but only by chance paddling in 2 feet of water i came across it near the rocks relaxing in the sand i first thought it was a big crab until it darting across the sand and started to burry itself in2 the sand, i caught it with a stick i found pinned it to the sand picked it out and put it in my sisters sand castle bucket.. that was cool, we had pulpo stew, beautiful,... but apart from that nothing seen, is night time a better time to hunt for them?...im going out 2moro earlyish. ive got a lobster pot full of hermit crabs and some dead fish i caught for bait yesterday fishing, im gonna weight it down in 10-15m of water about 5-10 feet from the rocks and make a chum from the crabs and fish, not mushed up but mushy and bits nd pieces, its an idea i came up with yesterday while i was collecting clams and mussels.. im living in spain so the viz around the beaches is very poor a good day would be 5 feet viz misty green very hard to see very hard to focus on shots so i tend to go to the outter breaker wall ( mainly big rocks, boulders) which make up the breaker wall not flat concrete, it drops of to about 10m gradually getting deeper outwards, loads of nucks and cranneys plenty of fish, im hoping this crab chum will bring me a nice octopus out from his lare, again do u think night time would be better for this, any suggestions on both, do you think this chum idea is a good one? ill leave it stand for an hr, do some fishing then slip in futher up tide and swim down see whats come sniffing about, oh one more Q: i got a lovely pair or cressi fins but unfortunly for me i have one bad foot i get cramp in my right foot alot while i use them any ideas, i tought thick socks on that foot havent tried yet maybe 2moro
 
Firstly do you have sharks in your area?? If so your chum mite attract them and I dont think youd want to swim into a feeding shark...
Allthough the chum mite work your octopus mite be big and a bigun could possibly hold you under water, theyre much stronger than what they look.
Having said all that, I have found most octo at night during low tide in rock pools, you just grab em by the head and throw em on the rocks to stun them, pick em up and pull the head over itself, clean em with sand and your sorted...
Good Luck and save diving
 
Trouble is that in most Mediterranean countries it is forbidden to hunt at night, and octopus very rarely get out of their holes in the rock during the day.
-So the question is: which holes are "octo" holes?
That's interesting, because these animals have an artistic personality, and tend to "decorate" the entrance of their dwellings with shells and stones (also as a dfense "wall" against predators). So if you patiently investigate every hole, you'll recognize the ones wich have pieces of shells, remainings of eaten sea urchins or coloured stones at the entrance. There's a big chance it's the home of an octopus!
-Then what if the bottom is not rocky/reefy, but sandy?Well it's quite hard to find octopus living in flat all sand bottoms, cause they tend to live in a safe "home". Easier to find them on mixed terrains, a mix of sand and and rocks. And yes, they also live in the sand. They dig a hole in it, preferably under a stone or under something solid, and in this case you will also sea the brighter "extra" sand deriving from the digging of the hole as a signal of their presence.
Hope this helps.
 
Last edited:
:friday Hi buddy,
I usually catch octopuses only with hands.

Therefore, I do that with the daylight. You can try to hunt them from 1.00 pm to 3 pm or 6 pm-8.30 pm

You have to look carefully all the holes in the rocks.
Pay attention to fishes if they look into a hole you will find an octopus or a moray or something else.

Good Luck.

KK:king
 
Reactions: spaghetti
ciao Kinky!
Yes there are lots of people cacthing octopus with bare hands, probably the most effective and simple way.
But you never know accidents may occur: if a big one bites you, even with gloves, it's a pain. And again big ones might - theoretically - grab your hand with their tentacles and keep you stuck underwater for a few seconds, which is no good if you're out of air.
I prefer to shoot them, and in this case this is the "how to".
-Best thing, if the hole is big enough, to shoot them with a trident or 5 pronger: shocking, paralyzing and with a firm "grip" on them. But sure, you may also shoot with a tahitian.
-soon as you shoot, try to pull them IMMEDIATELY out of the hole, don't leave them the time to realize what's happening, and help yourself with the free hand catching the tentacles. Pull immediately and strongly.
-If you fail to pull it out, leave it there with the shaft, the gun and anything, and wait for say 15 minutes (meanwhile you can go on hunting nearby if you have a second gun). After 15 or 20 minutes go back to the hole, and you'll see that the octopus has come out, trying to escape with the shaft still in its body.
 
Reactions: Mr. X
Hi spaghetti,
thanks for your advice. I'll do.

All the best,

Kinky
 
paddyc23 said:
Q: i got a lovely pair or cressi fins but unfortunly for me i have one bad foot i get cramp in my right foot alot while i use them any ideas, i tought thick socks on that foot havent tried yet maybe 2moro
Click to expand...
If the fins aren't tight (sounds like not, as you are thinking of thick socks) then it might be you just need to get used to finning with them. I got calf cramps when I first upgraded to long fins, again after laying off Feb/March & then hitting the pool. I also got a thigh cramp first time back in the sea (only the second thigh cramp in my life...the first, years ago, immobilised me completely, I needed help to bend the leg - the second was no where near that bad). Cramps pass. Like "shin splints" when running, you might just need to get used to the level/type of activity (or to longer/stiffer fins).

[Re. cramps, some people say lack of salt, others calcium, others say lactic acid. I've never heard a compelling explanation though. It seems to me like it's probably your body trying to protect the muscle ...like when a muscle locks or becomes sore after over use or insufficient rest.]
 
Reactions: spaghetti
Hi buddy,
if your fins are tight you have two solutions:

1) You could buy fins one size bigger than yours and you can use a special rubber band to fix the fins to your feet. You can find it in every good diving shop.

2) You can widen your fins. First of all you have to take a glass bottle of the right size. Put it inside your fins. Then you must force them. Then you have to warm the part you wanna widen with an hairdrier for few minutes.
When the fin gum is hot you must force the bottle inside. Then, you have to leave your fins with the glass bottles inside for few hours.

I read this last solution in a magazine.

All the best,

KK
 
Reactions: Mr. X

All of this is true, but I would like to add that you need potassium (bananas ) and you need to stay hydrated. This will help with your cramps. You might also want to try adjustable fins with water shoes under them.
 
Reactions: Mr. X
yep its the potassium thats the key. Mind you i just take the supplements since i hate bannanas

Huw
 
Huw said:
yep its the potassium thats the key. Mind you i just take the supplements since i hate bannanas
Click to expand...
roflYup must be potassium, I missed that one! I don't like bananas either but eat them occasionally, mainly because of the supposed benefits of the potassium, but they make me feel yuk -- perhaps due to the fairly high glycemic index (messing with insulin level)? Poor hydration is a good one -- can cause all kinds problems...got a few stories about that.
 
It's also important to rehydrate yourself during spearfishing because in that way you avoid a lot of problems.

So water + bananas. This is the best solution.

No more cramps
 
Thank for the info, went spearfishing with my buddy which always goes wen i do,were a great team and i think that matters wen it comes 2 spearfishing we've always got eachothers backs, i caught a small pulpo 2 days ago by accident, i shot a medium size salpa with my new trident unfortuntly it blew the fish in half as it fell down the side of a rock i reloaded my gun 2 shoot again to retrieve it as i did that the rock alive and i saw it was an small octopus which i shoot with the trident i caught it and put it into my net bag, it was a exciting feeling, that was the second day of fishing with my trident, i also caught 1 bass 1 mullet both nice sizes and i caught a palometa on the surface again nice size. My buddy who goes spearfishing with me is thinking of buying a cressi comanche 90 speargun.. What do you think of this gun any info?... I use a polino 85 with a trident and a make shift fly fishing reel cable tied underneath.. works a treat, i also have a polino 105 with a single spear but upgrading to a trident also interchangeable tips, with a D.I.Y fly reel later on.. I cant seem to find any info on this type of gun as its probably an old make any ideas? and also do you know of a gun simalar? ill upgrage when i got da cash to something else probably in the 110cm range as im a master shot one hit killer..any suggestions, oh i want rubber band too.
 
paddyc23 said:
...thinking of buying a cressi comanche 90 speargun.. What do you think of this gun any info?...
Click to expand...
Nice looking gun. Nice small handle. Spaghetti has/had several (designed & used by a world champion?). Some of the other forum members use them too, judging by images posted (often next to big bass!).
 
Any info on polino tabu 85 and 105 guns, cant find anything on the net about this type of gun..anyone out there know anything about these guns? would be a great help to me.. Im going spearfishing 2moro weathers been pretty rough last few days sw and ssw winds 15-25knts, pretty bad, todays been calm but too much sediment terrible viz, 2moro calm 5-8 knts ne nne winds, ill let ye know either way...I love dis site many experienced ppl with good points of view and tips, Thanks for all yer help...
 
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